Ryanair-operated Malta Air flight returns after window panel detaches in flight
A twin-engine Cessna 402 operated by Flamingo Air crashed on Friday shortly after take-off from Nassau International Airport, killing all ten people on board. The accident occurred in the northern reaches of Andros, the largest island group in the archipelago, just hours after the country marked the 53rd anniversary of its independence from Britain. Prime Minister Philip Davis called the crash “a day of mourning” and said the government had immediately suspended Flamingo Air’s operating certificate while the Bahamas Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) opened an inquiry.
The aircraft, registered in the Bahamas and bound for San Andros Airport, “encountered difficulties and struck vegetation before landing,” the AAIA said in a statement released on Saturday. Police confirmed the deaths of the pilot and at least nine passengers; authorities have not released nationalities. Flamingo Air said it was co-operating fully with investigators. On the same day, the airline was also cited in a separate incident involving a different aircraft: a fire broke out aboard one of its planes, prompting the Ministry of Transport to order an immediate suspension of Flamingo Air’s flights.
In Europe, a Ryanair-operated Malta Air flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen was forced to return after a window panel detached in flight, partially sucking a 61-year-old male passenger halfway out of the cabin. Fellow travellers and crew pulled the man back inside; he was hospitalised with friction burns, neck injuries and shock. Ryanair said the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, experienced an “explosive decompression” shortly after departure. Boeing confirmed it was aware of the incident and in contact with Ryanair.
Passengers described a moment of terror. “We heard a noise like a tyre bursting,” one woman told Greek radio. “There was panic, screams, and we lost altitude immediately because of the decompression.” She said the man beside the broken window had his “head and shoulders outside the aircraft” until others grabbed him. Video footage from inside the cabin, published by local outlets, shows the shattered window frame and the passenger seated with an oxygen mask after landing. Greek portal Newsit reported that debris from an engine component may have struck the window, citing preliminary indications. In 2018 a Southwest Airlines passenger died when engine fragments breached a cabin window and partially ejected her.
The dual incidents have focused fresh scrutiny on aircraft maintenance and the safety of regional carriers. Flamingo Air, a Bahamian airline, and Malta Air, a Ryanair subsidiary based in Malta, are both low-cost operators flying fleets that include ageing airframes. Boeing, whose 737 family is widely used across Europe, said it was assisting both investigations. Ryanair urged passengers to keep seat belts fastened at all times. “My recommendation: always buckle up,” the airline’s statement quoted a company safety expert as saying.
With the Bahamas still mourning the Andros crash and European authorities examining the Malta Air incident, aviation regulators across the region are expected to review window retention systems and engine nacelle integrity in the coming weeks.
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